Place: Reviews & Ratings

Went there a week ago on an overnight. Two blocks from my hotel in downtown BWI. It was about 1pm on Saturday afternoon so not very crowded. High ceiling in the main bar area. Got lucky with the table next to the big ass window next to the street. Awesome waitress. She was very good in recommending good beers for my non beer drinker friends. 40 beers on tap and about a 100 bottles. Great selection. Lot of the beers I wanted were understandably gone. But had the Stone Dayman Coffee IPA, Ballast Point Big Eye,and Green Flash West Coast IPA (They had the parabola but for 45$ not worth it for me). Had the fries made in duck fat(awesome and highly recommended). Did not have other food on this trip but had the burger on my last one and it was awesome. This place is on the pricey side but great selection. I will be back in BWI later on this month and I'm definitely gonna start at the alewife. (898 characters)

Alewife makes great use of their 40 taps. They always have plenty of high class craft beers to choose from. Their Stone event was amazing... all 40 taps were Stone beers. The beers are fairly priced, but the food is more expensive ($15 Smoke Burger w/ fries) but you get what you pay for with the food. It's the best burger I've ever had. Great rosemary duck fat fries, too.

The atmosphere is nice. It's never that crowded, and it has a great vibe to it. One of my favorite places to go in the city. (500 characters)

A short walk up Eutaw street from the Inner Harbor area, you can easily see the Alewife sign from a distance. The building looks like an old bank building from the outside, but inside it has more of a dark wood and maroon colored walls. The bar is large and has an impressive lineup of about 40 drafts. There are also some other tables in the area where some people were eating while enjoying beers.

We pulled up some stools at the bar and had a hard time deciding which of the beers to have. The beer list covered numerous styles including some sours which is nice too see. Bear Republic, DFH, Heavy Seas, Allagash, New Belgium, and Weyebacher were a few of the breweries represented. The several pints we had were all very fresh which shows good turnover with the number of taps here.

Service was very good here - friendly and beer knowledgable - any question regarding the beer selections was answered quickly and accurately. We did not try any food here.

Defintely a must stop for any BA in the Inner Harbor area, especially if want a different mellower vibe to enjoy some great beers. (1,093 characters)

Alewife is Baltimore's newest purveyor of craft ales. Proudly situated opposite the Hippodrome Theater in an imposing building that was once the Eutaw Savings Bank (the vault is still here), it offers Charm City beer advocates another opportunity to quaff great brews accompanied by some very eclectic cuisine, one item being Belgian-style fries cooked in duck fat.

The room is beautiful; spacious and airy, it is accented with dark wood, brass, stained glass windows and sleek crimson walls. There is a large, comfortable bar that is opposite a row of hightops that serves to separate this area with the regular dining area. Additionally, there a few tables along the windows, the large ones in the center once being the front entrance of the bank.

As previously noted, Alewife offers their customers about 40 taps to accompany a well chosen bottle list, which represents several of the great Beer Countries (i.e., Belgium and Germany). Several of the bottles are a bit pricey - such as De Ranke Golden Ale for $26.00. (Ouch!) During my visit, on a quiet Saturday afternoon, I had the opportunity to quaff the following: Loose Cannon IPA, Boulder Mojo, Evolution IPA and O'Hara Dry Stout. I could not help but notice that a good portion of Alewife's draft list favored hoppy beers. But, who's complaining? Not I.

Nor can I complain about the service: efficient and friendly; nor the menu, which went above and beyond the ubiquitous "pub grub" that one would find in many a bar, saloon or tavern. And yes! Those duck fat fries; this and a hearty Cuban sandwich sent me home stuffed and happy.

Alewife is a welcome addition to the Baltimore beer scene; and it is a most welcome sight to the thirsty Beer Advocate who wanders into this neglected section of town.

Given its' location well away from the Inner Harbor and Fells Point, this building has not had the best of luck (there have been two Irish pubs in three years); however, Alewife is worth a visit. In fact, the owners are also responsible for several such venues in Massachusetts: Lord Hobo (Cambridge) and Moan and Dove (Amherst). I wish them the same success with Alewife.

While I will always reserve a special love for Max's (See My Review), Alewife will indeed make a wonderful mistress.

Update: Paid another visit during Baltimore Beer Week 2011; this place grew on me even more. I remarked upon the serene atmosphere - as opposed to Max's sportsbar vibe. During Visit Two, they had two Bear Republic Double IPAs!

Update 10/19/13 - Another wonderful visit; this trip provided the chance to tatse Green Flash Surf Up, a Black Bear Racer, a new Belgian Pale Ale (Birdhouse) one from Baltimores Full Tilt and Boulevard Nommo Dubble. Max's is still my favorite but Alewife is catching up. Note: It gets very crowded with theater goers since H=the Hippodrome Theater is across the street. (2,858 characters)

An old bank converted to a kick ass bar, amazing atmosphere, feels more like an old church than bank. The draft list was damn good and the bartenders were absolutely on it, amazing service and beer discussion. Layla so hooked us up, my girlfriend couldn't stop talking about everthing Layla did to help us out. Check this place out, it's what I look for in a great pub. The exact opposite experience we had at Max's. Super chill awesome pub. (441 characters)

Not that one but the other one. Yes, Baltimore, for work at drink and now transitioning to at drink for play. Did the blind stumble about town but found my way, some way, anyway. Parked a sweet slander spot, fed the poser muni-meter wannabe, and assessed the shadybag factor (high)...

Old corner bank looking place in a not that great ‘hood. It is a beautiful fucking room though. Mad vaulted ceilings, tin pressed black with crown moldings, with a single center spiny, and squared drop hexagon paneled glass chandeliers. Blood red walls over black lowers with tall arched windows, some stained glass and an arched window forward where the door once was. White tiled floors with black diamond borders along the bar and slat wood floorings beyond. Framed wood balcony to the rear, the rails lined with garland & baby colored holiday lights and wreathes mounted below.

‘L’ dark wood bar with a framed panel base, and my feet left to dangle. Seating for 18 on hightop wood chairs. Row of 16 taps on the barback center and a pair of box towers along the bar with a dozen taps each. Tiered booze to both sides of the tower on the barback fronting horizontal mirrors, and glassware shelved countered and below, and more dangling from a slat rack lined with wrapping white. Large slanted horizontal mirrors above. Long drop baby spots in a row over the bar and fewer on the opposite wall, and lantern things along the bar.

Flats mounted in 3 corners, bright colorful art, and a blackboard listing tap selections on the far wall not even remotely updated or attempted. Neons in the front windows, and a Christmas tree where the door used to be. More art heavily packing the back room, and a baby faux fireplace there; it’s giving off some heat. I do not understander.

A pair of 8 stooled bar counter dividers off the bar and a baker’s dozen mix & match tables; highs and lows, singles and in rows, on the far side. Small back room with 10 tables and another small small small room with a single table there. And a handful of tables up there in the rear clock tower balcony.

And bottles, 64 of ‘em, by the look of things. They do a list, I looked it over. Priciest items are Firestone Walker Parabola, Bruery Tart of Darkness, & Oude Gueuze Tilquin a L’Ancienne, all at $45 a pop. Things look to be reasonably priced overall, although it’s hard to tell without my standardized price gauge (lovely) Orval.

Was looking for some din & done gave the menu a-lookin’ at. Something light me thinks; not too much, but enough. The blue catfish tacos (Potomac River blue cat, chimichurri, blistered corn salsa, chipotle cabbage slaw, sweet potato strings, one of those things makes some heat). They were perfect. I had been on the fence between them tacos and the smoke burger, airliner chicken breast, Maryland crab cake, & wild boar sliders, but I think I chose well.

We have been sucked into trivia night activities and we “guys at the bar” are not faring too well. Round 2, not much better. Caught a great meal, and would like to take in another. And the beer... Boulevard, New Belgium, & Oxford (fuckers!) Yeah, I’d do this again. (4,320 characters)

Visited on a Wednesday night (there was an Orioles Game down the street). Sat at the bar for dinner. It was not busy.

A - Good vibe. Clean and friendly. Your standard darkish pub. No real issues but I would probably not bring my kids. Seems more of an adult place. Looks as if lots of folks hit this bar on the way to an O's game, about four blocks straight down Eutaw.

Q - Beer in coolers or some down in the cellar. Served in proper beer glasses. No glass washing machine behind the bar (+).

S - Good attention from the bartender. Gave me tastes and talked beer with me. No compliants about the food timing.

S - Great but not overwhelming selection on tap and in bottle. Perfect. [Not 40 taps as per data above]. Common to rare. No BMC. Berliner weiss to RIS. Had three Catillions.

My wife and I (from Boston) were on a sports trip to see Camden Yards and Ravens Stadium. We found Alewife advertised on Beer Advocate and made it a MUST destination. It ended up being 4 blocks from our hotel. We stopped in for lunch and we had a BALL! Great selection of brews and we struck up conversations with three or so employees. I believe our server was named Joe, and he knew about all the beers. Talked hockey with another server (awesome), and someone from the kitchen talked to us about REAL Baltimore crab cakes.Go to Alewife if you are in Baltimore. Sit at the bar and tell them you came from Beer Advocate. It's a really cool building too. It was originally a bank and some of the vaults are now rooms. (718 characters)

A great stop in the Inner Harbor area, Alewife was about three blocks up the hill from our hotel right outside Camden Yards.

Cool vibe inside, one large room with extrmely high ceilings and a mezzanine with a good amount of seating. We got two seats at the corner of the old school bar.

Beer selection was really excellent, with a heavy emphasis on regional craft beers. We never see Evolution on tap in PA so that was a nice surprise. Also, Weyerbacher, Flying Dog, Heavy Seas, DFH all nicely represented.

Our heavily inked bartender was very friendly, always there when we needed something. Food was good as well.

After a handful of visits to Alewife Baltimore, there are some points that need to be reconsidered. Once the Stone historic event was over, what we have left is a draught list that is solid good but not exceptional. I've had trouble finding something I wanted here. Not a lot of variety, not many (if any) Imperial Stouts, no Barleywines, few (if any) Imperial IPA's. Lots of quality Euro brews from Belgium and stuff, if you care for that (St Bernardus, La Chouffe). But really, a little more diversity would be nice to appeal to all palates.

Prices are still incredibly out of control. Nasty expensive, both the beer and the food. No correction here.

Service can be hit or miss. At first everyone was super knowledgeable. Now they got at least one new bartender who's got no idea about beer and is also slow. She is willing but inefficient and can't tell a pilsner from an stout.

So I'm knocking down some points, but Alewife is still a very good beer bar with a unique, classy atmosphere and great food.

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My wife and I are stationed in Baltimore for two months and have already been exploring the beer options. The new Alewife is a cool addition to downtown Baltimore, in a somewhat strange and desolate area where Broadway-style theaters meet check-cashing joints and the homeless mingle with college students outside a Starbucks.

How well will this expansive and beautiful beer bar do in this sketchy area of a sketchy town? Hopefully well enough to survive!

The atmosphere is very nice, an old Irish-type pub with lots of wood, high ceilings and the works. Gorgeous and airy. Service is very good too, with beautiful bartenders who are extremely helpful and know their beer and food (how rare is that!).

40 beers on tap, and all of them interesting. No fillers here, no Guinness or Stella. When I visited, they had taps leftover from a massive Stone tasting (all 40 taps for them!), and I was lucky to drink Double Bastard '08 and Double Dry Hopped Stone IPA. Vertical Epics from '06 to '10 were available too!

The food is a winner here too. Imaginative, well made, different. I love it when places like these go beyond the nachos-and-fries fare of most bars. Here you can have beef carpaccio, tuna tartare, wild mushroom risotto cake, a meat-and-cheese plate with foie gras, chorizo and different cheeses... WOW!

Beer prices are all over- $5 for Dogfish 90, $6 for an Anderson Valley IPA, $6.5 for all the Stone specialties served on 12-oz glasses... the prices advertised on the board didn't match the prices I was charged, though ($8 for a Double Bastard, but a free Stone, nice but confusing).

Food is incredibly expensive, sadly. Tuna tartare was $12 and it was barely two bites, with no much dressing or garnish.

Three appetizers and two beers: $60, and they charge you for extra bread. SIXTY, that is correct. I can go to Brewer's Art and have the same amount of beer and food for half the price.

We loved the Alewife, but with these outrageous prices, I doubt we'll come often... we'll consider it a "once-a-semester treat". (3,095 characters)

The latest addition to the Baltimore beer scene. Stopped by twice over the past week; once for their Stone event and a couple days later on Sunday to see what the place is like on a "normal" day.

Located near Camden yards in the West downtown area, Alewife is an impressively good size restaurant with two downstairs dining area, and then an additional upstairs area (where I have not yet ventured). There is a foyer area just off of Eutaw street, and the downstairs dining area is to the left as you walk in. To the back is a good size bar area with around 15 bar seats. The place has a solid, clubbish kind of atmosphere, with lots of old wood and red giving it something of a warmish vibe. It's a nice looking restaurant/beer bar, and is the sort of place you wouldn't hesitate to bring family or a first date you were trying to impress. On the other hand, there are a couple of flat screen TV's over the bar area, and so the vibe is still very relaxed, and so conducive to hanging out and relaxing with a few beers.

As for selection, Alewife is committed to having 40 beers on draft with no crap on tap. They also plan to have weekly firkins of cask beer, though that policy had not yet been implemented when I stopped by for a visit. No matter, the selection is excellent, all the more so during the incredible Stone event, when they had 40 Stone beers on tap, including some vintage barleywine and imperials stouts, as well as some other barrel aged rareaties. They also have a decent bottle selection (which they're still building), but the draft selection was so good the days I stopped by, I gave the bottle list no more than a passing glance. Service was friendly and prompt, and I got the impression that it had been drilled into the staff that they needed to make an extra effort to remain friendly and accommodating to the restaurant patrons.

Prices were the downtown norm or a bit less, with most beers going for $5 a pint (in a real pint glass; none of this cheater pint/shaker glass nonsense).

There's no doubt this is a quality spot (in some ways it reminds me a bit of ChurchKey in DC), and I hope it does well. There's nothing else quite like it in that part of downtown Baltimore, and time will tell as to how well the place is received by the locals (the bar and dining areas were pratically empty the Sunday afternoon I stopped by). While I'm personally not a huge fan of that part of Baltimore, Alewife is such a great spot that there's no doubt I'll continue to make an effort to drop in from time to time. Best of luck Alewife!

Edit from 3/18/12. It seems as if Alewife has settled into the area and found it's niche. On a Sunday afternoon the place was fairly busy, with the dining room almost full and no seats left at the bar. Tried the catfish tacos recently, and while decent, I didn't find them to be any better than the fish tacos over at Max's (they were visually more attractive, but that's about it). Selection is as excellent as ever, but prices here are decidedly on the high side. Ordered a 12 ounce Dupont Saison and a 12 ounce Green Flash palate wrecker and the price came to $16.90 (nugget nectar pints were going for $7). Will still stop by from time to time, but the high prices will likely keep me from ever coming by on a regular basis. (3,288 characters)

Finally used a O's game as an excuse to check this place out. It's nice to finally have a high quality bar on the West side of Baltimore. I was really impressed with the building, it's all old-school wood and nicely detailed accents. It makes you really appreciate the time, effort, and craftsmanship that went into these old downtown buildings. The selection of beer amongst the 40 taps was rock solid and while nothing really stood out to me as "rare" I couldn't fault a single selection. The beer was served in proper glassware (true 16oz pints) and service was prompt. We also ate to fill up before the game and while the food selection was somewhat limited compared to the beer choices, all of us were more than happy with the quality. The only thing I'll point out here is that it took a long time for the food to come. Of course with good beer and conversation the wait was bearable and didn't detract too much from the experience. I was happy to see the place pretty full for a Thursday night. I'm hoping that this is a good sign that it's taken root in the community and will be around for a long time to come. I know that after my first visit, I was impressed enough to make sure to come back soon. (1,208 characters)

Stopped in around 7:00 on a Wednesday in mid January a month or so after they opened. Pretty crowded with what appeared to be the after-work crowd. Sat at the one open spot of a large bar and large bar area.

Forty beers on tap. Lots of IPA's and mostly common beers for the region with a couple exceptions and what I wound up getting...

Cask keg of Stone IPA with Amarillo and Simcoe hopsStillwater Existent (dark farmhouse ale that seemed more like an alt bier). They did carry a couple keg/bottle offerings from this local brewery. Saison DuPont for my rock fish dinnerSone 7.7.7 vertical aged in red wine barrelsAlso had Stone Lucky Bastard which I passed on as I had to drive.

They participated in a recent Stone "take over the taps" event that was held in a number of cities across the county which explains the strong Stone showing.

I passed on crab cakes as the bartender told me they were not in season but the rock fish was. Can't say I would do the rock fish again given the $22 price tag but that's just me when it comes to sea food which I think is over priced.

Overall, they had lots of very good beer options in a comforting historic location in the city. If not for the recent Stone event, I would have struggled to find something new/unusual to try which is the way I roll. (1,302 characters)

I have been to Alewife a few times now, but only for drinks- never for a sit-down meal.

Atmosphere- The decor is fantstic, and while it's not much different from when the previous tenants were using it, the decor just seems perfectly suited to a higher-end craft beer bar. The feel of the place is excellent as well- a healthy mix of people from all walks of life. The only thing that keeps me from giving a perfect 5 for atmosphere is the layout near the bar... while the bar is huge, the space can get really cramped around the bar during busy times... and there's nowhere else to go unless you're getting a table.

Quality- High quality abounds here. Everything is clean, served out of clean tap lines, and often in appropriate glassware.

Service- Barstaff are reasonably knowledgable/at/worst and highly knowledgable about beer at best. Service can get quite slow during busy times. However, I would still say the service is a notch above average.

Selection- A very well-thought-out selection. While they don't have the sheer volume of beers in their selection as say Max's, they have done a stellar job of putting together an excellent range of beers that are world-class examples of an array of styles.

I will definitely be going back to Alewife and would definitely recommend it to friends. (1,302 characters)

Stopped by on a Saturday, late afternoon early evening before heading to Ottobar for the Greg Dulli show.

Atmosphere: The nicely restored building, both inside and outside. Alewife is across Eutaw St. from the Hippodrome theater and seemed to do good pre-show business. On entrance, I was greeted with a huge (and very tall) bar and seating area. A small alcove, maybe four tables, overlooked the bar. A couple of TVs but nothing that would dominate the scene. There are two huge chalkboards of tap and bottle offerings.

Quality: Service was a bit slow in the early going (strange because it wasn't that busy) but that quickly turned around. Restrooms were very clean and I noticed, over time, that the booming stereo was gradually lowered.

Service: Again, a little slow at the outset. That didn't linger for long though and, by the end of the night, I had no complaints.

Selection: This is where things got interesting. There were remnants from the Stone night a few weeks back and I led off with a Vertical Epic flight (06 through 09), topped off with a goblet of 10 for good measure. Plenty of other Stone offerings, along with a number of Victory, Boulder and Stoudts brews as well. The website isn't as up-to-date, so use that with caution. A nice bottle list. And I had to chuckle at the special: Southern Tier Cuvee 2 bombers for $5. You couldn't pay me $5 to drink one of those!

Food: Appetizers to soups and salads to sandwichs to entrees. I had a cubano, my only complaint that the gruyere was a little too overpowering. (1,535 characters)

Stopped in here for dinner on Saturday night with my wife. It's kind of a pain to get to, especially coming from the south, you sort of have to go a couple blocks above it and circle back, but once you get there, 2 public parking lots await less than a block away. Usually parking is the worst part about these places. Valet is advertised, but no one was outside when I pulled up. Inside is a trendy setting with two-story ceilings that make it feel very open. We sat downstairs and didn't venture up to see the 2nd floor bar. Bottle and tap lists are written on the wall in chalk and aren't easy to see from some of the seats, be prepared to get up from your seat to order a beer. Beer selection was decent. I visited in late September and found lots of American and European Oktoberfest beers. Stone seems to be their featured brewery as they had a higher percentage of their drafts and bottles over the others. IPA's are broken out on a separate list, neat idea. I had a Wienstephan Hefewiezen, which you don't see on tap every day. They ever served it in a .5L Wienstephan glass. The food was probably the highlight. Our shrimp appetizer was average, but my wild mushroom risotto cakes and my wife's chicken were both top notch. Prices were a little on the high side for the food (although it was worth the premium - the waiter made a point to tell us that everything is made from scratch on site.... even the ketchup) but my .5L Hefe was only $6... I would expect that same beer to be about $10 at some of the other local establishments. Service was also good, we got lots of attention as there wasn't much of a crowd there. I probably wouldn't go back for an average happy hour because I live closer to some of the other local beer bars, and they are easier to get to for me.... but I don't think I'll have any trouble talking my wife into going back there for dinner every few weeks to enjoy some good food and beer. (1,923 characters)

Overall Alewife is fantastic, good beer, good food, interesting(but usually great) service. As a beer place alone its very good but the selection while expansive (40 or so taps) doesn't seem greatly balanced. also it seems like they are out of a lot of bottles on the menu. Don't get me wrong, I am stoked to have a bar like this around, but its just that sometimes the selection seems weighted too heavily towards one genre. The food is wonderful, great jazzed up versions of pub favorites. and they do a late night menu for stragglers.Beautiful dark wood interior with lovely large windows, but you never know whether its going to be crowded with loud music or calm and quiet.Honestly this is my go to bar, despite the fact I live moments from max's. Its got its warts but it rivals the brewers art as the best beer and meal place in town. (843 characters)

For a beer destination bar in Baltimore Alewife is up there. Great decor in an old style bank. The bar itself is beautiful. Bartenders are always on point and know their product. Don't leave without sampling the food menu. Burgers are bangin'. Conversation is easy and the crowd is pretty diverse from theatre crowd to University of Maryland medical grad student happy hours. Alewife is only 5 blocks north of Camden Yards so if you're a beer snob and want something nice before you go buy $8 Miller Lites at the ball game than hit this place up for sure. Bring your wallet though. Those beers add up. You get what you pay for though. (635 characters)

Pumped to check this out pre-O's game, and was glad to give it a shot. Overall this was a good experience with a great waiter, interesting beer selection and decent food - overall worth a shot in the area.

Love the old bank building, and they did a great job making this place comfortable, but interesting. Cool bar, stained glass, bank doors, etc. Was really pleased by our friendly and knowledgeable waiter - helpful picking out food and beer to pair, just a good guy.

Beer selection both on tap and in bottle was great. Definitely seasonally focused, but a great mix of local craft and great beers from the world, including St Bernardus on tap, and a strong selection of bottled unique beers (JW Lees, etc). Food was just so-so - the cheese grits were as good as I've ever had, but the mussels were not good. Similarly kobe hot dog was great, but shrimp (with heads on in bbq on grits) were not well executed.

Was looking for a bar Friday night during my visit to Baltimore last weekend and decided on Alewife because I thought I had heard something good about it at one point in time. I was pleasantly surprised upon walking in when I saw there were 40 beers on tap.

It was a Friday night so the place was full but definitely not crowded. The atmosphere was laid back and enjoyable. We were able to get seats at the bar almost immediately.

Both the draft and bottle selections were good. The service was also good. I didn't try any of the food.

I did feel that the prices were maybe a little high but I had a good experience and I would come back if in the area. (658 characters)

Stopped by here while staying in Baltimore near the stadiums. I saw a handful of good reviews here on BA so I gave it a shot. From the outside it looks like an old Library or former Education building of sorts. I almost walked right into the glass covering the opening of the "front doors" (actual entrance is to the right). Cool vibe going on inside including a huge handwritten chalkboard draught list. They have high ceilings with a second floor deck overlooking the main bar and restaurant area.They had about 40 beers on tap when I went, and another 95 in bottles. The beer selection was nice and well packed with local brews which is cool. The food menu was short and sweet with a few small plates, artisanal sandwiches, mussels, calamari etc. I had a big tasty burger and some of the calamari. Both of the bartenders working that evening were helpful, personable and friendly. I'd recommend this place to anyone looking for good beer and a cool spot. I'll be returning here on my next visit. (998 characters)

Located not too far from the Lexington Market subway station Alewife is a place easy to miss.

Entering though you are in a giant large ceiling building that has been redecorated and screaming new gentrified fashion, while still remaining old world charm. The patronage is diverse, and the place was very busy for a Tuesday night when I visited.

Aside from one foul mouth racist drunk in the corner trying to stir things up (who didn't last long), everything here is quite comfortable and pleasant. The building and crowd reminds me a lot of the nice places I frequent to drink in DC, although the clientel in Baltimore is classic locals who are different from their nearby DC counterparts.

Service is ok, some minor attitude but nothing you can't really fault. Beer selection here is a step up and also contains lots of good glassware to go with it.

Didn't get to try all the food, but the fries in duck fat never fail, and the burger is rich if perhaps a little too rare but no major complaints.

I really like the atmosphere of this place the most, it really feels and gives me an idea of what the residents of Baltimore look like and what their city has to offer, and the building is real nice inside. I will always keep this place on my radar when visiting Charm City. (1,276 characters)

Good atmosphere. Lots of people that cared about what they drank and a mix of 40 somethings through mid-20s. Solid music in the background. Friday night was mostly older somewhat new wave, I feel like New Order and Devo came up a feww times. Saturday afternoon was closer to current indie/emo music. The bar was cool in a sort of industrial style with lots of sort of bar classic wood mixed in.

Had about 40 draft beers maybe more. It was a little difficult to understand exactly what they had. They had a chalkboard with the drafts and some had ABV, some listed prices, but some were labeled with nothing. They had a paper list of drafts but it was also incomplete. On the other hand, they had about 20 Dogfishhead on draft. That's more than I've seen anywhere, including the brewery in Milton, DE and the restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, DE. They also had a strong selection of Stone, ~10 options. So I had plenty to choose from and overall, those complaints are pretty minor compared to my overall experience. They also had a cask, and it featured Victory Hopdevil. I love Victory, so I defintely was delighted with this option and with the flavor.

Bottle list was impressive, with a lot of solid Belgians and some other europeans and american crafts, but I did not have time to try anything there. My guess would be on the level of 60-80 options.

My service was fine. I went there twice in 2 days. Once for dinner and the next day just before my flight out of town. The afternoon service was fine for me, but I do have to mention that a couple got up and left because it took a while for them to be served and they went to the bar a few times to request service. I do believe it was a miscoomunication between the server and the bartender, but figured I had to mention it. The food was solid. I had Ox tail on top of panco crusted mashed potatoes and fried onions on top. It was excellent. I also ordered some tempura battered frites. Not sure exactly why I ordered it because the concept sounded a bit ridiculous, but I like tempura and I enjoy belgian style fries. Anyway, they didn't really come out so great. The tempura batter was fine, but the inside was sort of like a slimy, barely cooked slice of potatoe. Not awful, just not all that great. I do applaud the effort to be creative, I would just remove this from the menu and go with traditional tempura and traditional frites. Both can be awesome and improved with some subtle additions.

The food was a little expensive, but I thought the beer prices were pretty good. In general, these prices are fairly reasonable considering it is so close to the inner harbor and I had a crab cake sandwich for lunch at another local restaurant that was around $15. (2,720 characters)